Masked
by aradian nights
Summary: Joshua became the Composer of Shibuya on December 24th, 1998. 7:16 PM. But the story is much more complex than you think. Prequel to Just Shiki. For Divine Wolfe. WTH with Family/Suspense? Sucky at the end. Sue me.
1. Chapter 1

_For Angel._

* * *

Yoshiya Kiryu.

There were tales about a child like him. Children who could see lingering spirits, their tortured souls running, screaming, being devoured. Yoshiya could see them all. He had always seen them. He had even chatted with some at a point, until his mother got worried and pulled him away.

_Yoshiya's grin shone brightly when he looked up at the woman. She was eighteen. She died in a car crash the day previous. Her dark eyes were kind when she bent down to look at the small boy._

"_Hello, there," She said, "You aren't dead, too, are you?"_

"_I'm sorry. I'm not dead." Yoshiya flicked his hair from his eyes- a new habit of his. "You are?"_

"_Yes…" The woman looked wary now, but she still sat. "My name is Kumarei Sakuraba."_

"_Then you should go find someone else who's dead, Ms. Kumarei Sakuraba."_

_The girl stared at him. Her lip twitched slightly. "Excuse me?"_

"_Dead people who don't find other dead people disappear. Plain and simple- you'd be smart to find someone quickly." Yoshiya folded his arms across his chest, frowning at the older girl._

"_Disappear…?" The woman was deep in thought._

"_Run. Don't look back." Yoshiya faintly heard his mother calling his name. "Joshua," She called. The corners of his lips turned upward. He loved to be called Joshua._

"_Run?" The girl whispered, shaking her head._

"_There is always a monster behind you. If you look back it will eat you."_

"_Who told you this?" The woman looked uneasy, unable to figure out if she should trust the child. He was a child. What was not to trust?_

"_A fallen angel."_

"_Joshua!" The boy was quickly pulled away from the busy street by his mother. "Joshua, who on Earth are you talking to?"_

"_No one, mother." The boy said, a smile growing onto his face. "I was just admiring this car. Very nice, isn't it?"_

_The woman stared at her son, frowning. "Come, now, Joshua. We have to go see your father."_

_Joshua's face fell slightly. "Oh."_

_His mother nodded, her orange hair falling over her eyes. "We'll go out for ice cream later," She said, a smile creasing her skin. "Alright?"_

"_Okay, mother." The boy turned and waved to the dumbfounded teenager. "Goodbye, Kumarei Sakuraba."_

_She waved at him._

_When the boy's mother looked at the Newspaper, she found that that name was written in the obituary. She didn't tell anyone._

Joshua was the kind of person who sat back and waited. Watched, and learned. Sitting, at fifteen, in a musty old building next to a Fallen Angel was quite something. But Joshua had known Sanae Hanekoma since he was four years old. The boy had wandered onto Cat Street, a mere child confused and alone- that being misunderstood. His father had been a step away from calling a professional to look at the boy.

And then, the tiny boy came across a run down building, with a broken man inside it.

"_Hello," The boy watched the man stiffen slightly. "Are you alright?"_

_The building was very run down indeed- across the walls were drawings. Graffiti, wasn't it called? Joshua frowned a bit. The whole room was covered in debris, papers all over. In the corner there was a scratchy mat. Above it was a map of the world. Joshua ran his fingers across the continents, and they tingled a bit at the thought of this paper being the world. The man had not yet stirred from his frozen state. Joshua directed his attention to the opposite wall. _

_Insignias and_ _doodles were strewn across the wall. Joshua ran his hand over a skull-like doodle. He was captivated by it. It was a cool burnt ash color- and in Joshua's eyes, he saw a flurry of ash snowflakes fall innocently to the ground. A wail of sirens. A plume of smoke. The boy tilted his head. He very much liked this picture._

_His breath hitched in his throat. The skull- it was nothing compared to the mural next to it. The boy was gaping at the bright white wings- how had he not seen them? How? They were…_

_Joshua could not form the words. They had just been taken away from him. Wings. Beautiful, light wings etched across the surface of the dry wall, detail scratched into every nook and cranny of the mural._

"_Wow…" Joshua's whisper echoed through the room. The man stiffened even more._

"_Did you do this?" Joshua turned to face the man. He did not turn._

_Joshua sighed, now annoyed in a greater sense. He scowled, folding his chop-stick arms over his chest. Could the man even hear him? Joshua smiled, suddenly struck by an idea. If he couldn't he would._

"_I see dead people." Joshua said matter-of-factly, smiling coyly at the man._

_The man's head shot up, and Joshua froze in his place. So he was listening after all? Joshua watched- a trickle of fear rising in his chest. But the man's unshaven face had a smile of knowing on it. _

"_Well," the man said, "I wouldn't really shout it to the entire world, kid."_

_Joshua's face split into a grin. He already liked this man._

Joshua leaned against the door pane idly, watching Sanae Hanekoma sift through the piles of junk that had lain forgotten on the cement floor for years. Joshua was a smart boy. Too smart, he mused. Joshua had known about Shibuya for years. Its game- the Reaper's Game, they called it, astonished him in a awe-worthy way. He had never quite forgotten about when Sanae had explained the Composer's game to him. And the six year old had no doubt found flaws. But Joshua was patient. He and Sanae had come up with many solutions to these flaws, and as Joshua became older, smarter, he began to understand things more and more.

He understood the Composer perfectly.

And he understood, and accepted the man's objective.

Joshua was a threat.

Threats were not welcome in Shibuya.

Especially a threat like Joshua.

Having the sight of a Composer was not a good thing.

"Christ, Josh'," Sanae said, trying to shift a large cement block, "if you're going to just stand there, you can at least give that wall a new coat."

Joshua raised an eyebrow, glancing at Sanae's latest creation. It was some kind of fire. He was intrigued, but not too much. "Repainting that wall again? Mr. H, honestly, you need to find someplace else to draw your murals." Joshua giggled- a fairly new trademark of his that annoyed his father to no end. Which is why Joshua was using it more often.

"It's not as if I have too much wall space." The man laughed shortly.

Joshua shrugged, bending down to pick up a paintbrush. "Make your own wall space."

Sanae snorted. "Easier said than done."

Joshua rolled his eyes, swiping the brush into a bucket of white paint. "I thought you could do anything, Mr. Hanekoma." He giggled once more, running his paintbrush along the wall.

"I can."

"Well, then go out and get yourself some wall space so I don't have to paint over this damn wall." Joshua smirked, looking back at the older man.

"Don't get cocky, Josh'. Now paint." Sanae said, shifting through more littered papers.

"Of course." Joshua grinned, turning back to the wall. The wall wasn't too big. He was about a quarter done with it.

"Hey, I forgot to ask." Sanae said from behind him, "How's the midget doing?"

"Hmm?" Joshua glanced back at Sanae, raising an eyebrow. "Oh. He's fine. Too shy, if you ask me. But I'm not about to turn into my father and teach him any discipline or something. He's just…" Joshua trailed off, and shook his head. His mind was nagging him.

_At ten, Joshua had become awfully curious. Earlier that year, he had found out he was going to be an older brother. Of course Joshua barely cared much. He had bigger problems than a younger sibling._

_But, then, why was he standing in a slightly grungy hospital, staring through the glass, watching the tiny infants sleep away? _

_It was December 18th_. _4:19 AM._

_Joshua's younger brother had been born almost a half an hour earlier. _

_He was the only one staring through the glass. His fingers pressed against it, almost gripping it. If it were not glass, he would have succeeded in putting some kind of dent into it. _

_He could hear his father on his phone in the hallway to the right. _

_He could see the sleeping infants wrapped snuggly in blankets. All of them slept._

_All, except for one._

_Joshua peered closer into the glass. Two glassy blue orbs stared back. They were distantly aware of his presence. Staring blankly at him. _

_The back of Joshua's mind prickled from familiarity._

_No… it couldn't be…_

"He's a little bit of a space cadet." Joshua shrugged, watching as he made it to the middle of the wall. Soon enough he'd be finished. Soon enough.

"And you weren't when you were his age?" Sanae raised an eyebrow, pulling a garbage bin over to him.

"Of course I was. But I'm not talking about the way I was. I went around Shibuya _looking _for trouble. He's more of the… type to keep quiet." Joshua continued with his wall, frowning a bit. His brother was most defiantly the mystery.

"Ah, so he's pretty much the complete opposite of you, huh, Josh?" Sanae laughed, throwing a pile of yellowed newspapers into the garbage bin.

"Pretty much." Joshua smiled slightly. The two brothers were… close enough, per se. But Joshua knew that his relationship with the five year old wasn't the closest it could be. He was very fond of his brother. Very, very fond. But there was just something about him. Something Joshua couldn't quite pin point- something about the boy that just didn't fit.

"Well, bring him in next time. I'd like to meet him- it gets boring talking to just one person." Sanae grinned at Joshua's sour expression.

"Oh? You don't like my company?" Joshua pouted slightly. "Well, I could stop visiting you altogether."

"Yeah, sure. See how long you live for." Sanae's grin did not falter.

"When I die, I will do my best to overthrow the Composer, Sanae." Joshua stood back from the wall, glimmering with a glossy sheen. "If I fail- well, I suppose there's no real reason I should fail, is there?" Joshua giggled, brushing his hair from his face.

"Don't talk about dying, Josh." Sanae's grin had been wiped from his face. "You aren't strong enough to face the Composer. You know that."

"I may not have a choice, Sanae." Joshua whispered, staring at the bright mural on the wall parallel to his. It was the one thing Sanae had not painted over. The Angel wings. The loss that Sanae had. The thing that Joshua wanted most.

"Look, it doesn't take a fool to know that Hiroko Kokyuu is a man you don't want to cross paths with. Joshua- look at me, will you? The Composer has _no _limit. He will stop at nothing to see you begging for death." Sanae stared at the boy, his lips thinned. Joshua shrugged.

"Relax. I'll be fine." He giggled.

"You say that now, Josh. But, come on, we both know the guy is planning something for not killing you yet."

Joshua raised an eyebrow. "Can't you just be grateful I've been spared so far?"

"Josh, seriousl-" Sanae stopped. The door had creaked open behind Joshua.

Frowning, Joshua turned, staring at a small boy with an array of orange spikes floating around his head. They fell over his crystal ball eyes, which stared across the room rimmed with clouds. Joshua raised an eyebrow, folding his arms across his chest.

"Neku?"


	2. Chapter 2

"Neku?"

The boy didn't look up. He just stared blankly at Sanae. And Sanae stared back, only with an expression of shock. Sanae Hanekoma was not easily shocked. Something was wrong.

"Neku?"

The boy's eyes stared in an unblinking way, locked on the face of Joshua's good friend. His mouth opened, and his lips moved, forming words Joshua couldn't catch.

"Neku, wake up." Joshua sighed, watching the boy jump. His crystal ball eyes trailed to Joshua's face, seeing through it with ease. Pealing layer by layer off, until there was nothing left but bone and soul.

"Momma said to come in a get you." His voice was light- heightened in pitch. Expected from a five year old.

"And why would mother do that?" Joshua questioned, though he said it sarcastically, the boy answered anyway.

"We're going to see father, Yoshy." Neku said quietly. "It's Christmas Eve."

Was it? Joshua realized this suddenly. Oh, dear. How had he not realized this? The boy had just so recently turned five. And Christmas came right after.

Joshua heard a short laugh come from where Sanae was sitting, but when Joshua looked over the man he was quickly back to cleaning up.

"Ah," Joshua said, trying to sound as enthusiastic as he could to trick the young boy into believing it.

"Alright, well, we shouldn't keep mother waiting, should we?"

Neku shook his head. He glanced back at Sanae.

"Oh," Joshua waved his hand a bit. "Neku, this is my friend, Mr. Hanekoma- can you say that? Just call him Mr. H if you can't. Mr. H, this is Neku, my brother." Neither made a move.

Joshua raised an eyebrow. "Alright? You two? Would you like to be alone?" Joshua giggled, watching Sanae glance at him.

"Joshua," Neku said, turning to face him. "Momma said to hurry." He paused, glancing at the door. "We don't have a lot of time."

"We'll never have enough time." Joshua rolled his eyes, grabbing his coat from an old wooden table. "We have to live with it."

Neku said nothing. Sanae stood, rubbing the back of his neck, and Neku turned pushing open the door and leaving the two. He stopped, and looked back at Joshua.

"Everything happens for a reason, Joshua…"

"Neku, your insight is going to give me a headache. Go tell mother I'm coming, and shut that damn door. You're going to turn us into popsicles." Joshua yawned, not in the mood to listen to the rare tellings of the five year old.

"Everything happens for a reason," The boy stared at his feet, ignoring Joshua's previous sentence, "right?"

Joshua shook his head. "I suppose if you try and look at it from a perspective of a five year old, yes, it does. But if you look at it differently- Neku, I'm not going to answer this question. It'll take too long, and honestly, I'd like to get this over with, so, as they say in America, _move it_."

Neku looked up, and nodded. He left without another word. Joshua shook his head. "Whatever…" He waved to Sanae. "I'll see you later."

"Josh, wait." Sanae walked over to the ashen haired boy, watching the door warily. "That kid-"

"Yoshiya! Out! Out now!" His mother called from outside.

"What about him?" Joshua asked, ignoring his mother's calls.

"Joshua!"

"Look- he's… look. I don't have time to explain, but watch him, okay? Don't let him out of your sight." Sanae glanced at the door.

"Why?"

"Because- didn't I say I'd explain?" Sanae asked, running a hand through his hair.

"Yeah- I'll be over at around eight." Joshua nodded, ignoring another shout.

"Don't sneak out on Christmas, Josh. Just- tell them where you're going."

"That," Joshua said, pushing open a door with a smirk, "is no fun."

He heard Sanae sigh as he left, and he smiled at his mother, who placed her hands on her hips, lips pursed, dark eyes looking expectantly at Joshua for an explanation. Joshua giggled, waving at his mother. "Merry Christmas."

The woman shook her head. "No."

Joshua rubbed the back of his neck. "Right, sorry, mother."

She pursed her lips, her cheeks sucked in as if she were pondering on what to do. She rolled her head, shrugging. "Do it again and you're grounded." She said, taking a hold of Neku's hand.

"_Righto, mum_!" Joshua giggled, feeling the unfamiliar English words slip of his tongue.

"What on earth does that mean?"

"You need to watch more television."

"But, Joshua, you don't watch television." Neku looked up at Joshua with his twin pair of curious eyes.

"Ah, but that's incorrect, Neku, dear. I don't watch television _much._ Large difference." Joshua smiled at his mother, who stared blankly at her eldest son, her lips twisted in confusion.

"Where did you come from?" The orange haired woman questioned, her eyes flaring a bit with humor.

"If I knew, I'd tell you," Joshua slid into their car, frowning. "But I'm just as clueless as you are."

"Joshua's crazy, momma." Neku observed, sliding in next to him.

"Oh, Neku, he's just being your brother." She waved a bit, and smiled.

"Brother Yoshy…" The boy murmured. Joshua glanced at the boy, and ignored his words. He did not like to be called Yoshy.

* * *

It was terribly boring, as always, for Joshua and Neku, as they watched their father mingle with different people. Call it what you will- an office Christmas party, a political discussion. It would be at least an hour until the two boys could leave.

It wasn't as if there weren't other children there. There were a few. But Joshua and Neku weren't displaying any contact. Neku was sitting on a tiny wooden bench, swinging his stubby legs back and forth, humming. Joshua was eavesdropping on his father's conversations.

Tradition.

So wonderful, tradition is.

Joshua leaned against the wall, glancing out the window to their right.

There was no more sun.

Joshua could only hear fragments of the conversations around him. But he focused on his father's. Because he was talking about the most common topic his father brought up. Joshua's ever not-so-distant future. Joshua knew, however, his father's plans would never carry through.

Joshua looked over at Neku. The boy watched him with his large eyes looking ever so curious.

_Several months previous to Neku's birth, Joshua, nine, watched the young and old Players run around, trying to clear their treacherous missions. And one by one they fell. Erased, was it? Well, was Joshua's only reply, sucks to be them._

_He was on his way to meet Sanae Hanekoma. His mother had commented on how he lived on Cat Street, and he had the word 'cat' in his name. Joshua mentioned this to Sanae once._

"_Wicked awesome codename that would be," He had said jokingly, flicking his hair._

_Joshua whistled to himself, watching the players look around frantically. They were looking for something._

"_If you are planning on helping them, I suggest not."_

_Joshua turned around, raising an eyebrow at the girl who had spoken. She speaks funny, he observed, sensing the accent buried beneath her Japanese words. She looks strange as well. Blood red curls framing her freckled face, lips matching with a perfect shine. Her curls were glossy, gently combing around her slim face. She looked around sixteen to the nine year old, but of course, he was off. In image, the girl was only fourteen years old. _

"_I wasn't going to help them." Joshua said, rolling his eyes. This girl was Composer territory. Hands off, Sanae had said. Hiroko was possessive of her. His most prized trophy. _

"_Why do you lie, when I can see it so numbingly clear?" The girl asked, closing her heavily made-up eyes._

"_Who are you," Joshua said, a little uneasy, "Madea?"_

"_Persephone, actually, but very close." Persephone said, her eyes staring blankly at him. They were a shocking blue color. Crystal ball eyes. Staring through Joshua's every lie, every smile, every memory._

"_Persephone?" He said slowly, making sure he had it right._

"_Correct, child of Angels."_

"_What?"_

_Persephone sighed, wrinkling her nose a bit. She didn't seem to be happy. "I'm sorry if I sound too formal- I do not mean to be."_

"_You have an accent- are you American?"_

"_No."_

"_English?"_

_And suddenly, she smiled. "_Righto, mum._" She said, her voice changing suddenly, laced in strangeness._

"Mum?_ Sorry?"_

"_I've come to give you some news, child of Angels." Persephone's giddiness had died. In its place was a thick blanket of the girl's blank expression._

"_Oh?" Joshua asked, "And whatever could that be?"_

"_Too smart, indeed." Persephone observed._

"_What?"_

"_You are a boy of the sight. You, child, have been condemned to death by the order of the stars. You are not to live beyond your fifteenth year." Her crystal ball eyes were stone hard, clearly uncaring, and blank. Was this the mark of the girl? Nothing? Blankness? Emptiness?_

"_Death?" Joshua's stomach twisted at the thought. "Well, that's a bother."_

"_Hiroko Kokyuu has branded you as treasonous. You are allowed not in Shibuya."_

"_What treason?" Joshua knew he had to be careful on what he said. He was nine, not an idiot._

"_You have the sight, child of Angels. That alone is treason enough against the Composer." Persephone closed her eyes._

"_I never did anything to anyone, Persephone- can you tell me why I am going to die?" Joshua asked, his stomach twisting once more._

_Persephone did not answer._

"_You're a Seer. Yeah, that's it. Mr. H said things about Seers. You're legendary Soothsayers."_

_Persephone rubbed her eye, shaking her head. Her glossy read curls fell to her face. "You are an Angel's creed, Yoshiya Kiryu. One that should not be trusted. I know why he fears you, and I do not intend on becoming that of legend. It was his fair warning. Take of it what you will. But do heed this; Hiroko is fearsome, and hates your every fiber, cell, and atom. I'd be quick to run, if in your shoes."_

"_Fantastic. Where can I trade my eyes?" Joshua grinned, bouncing on the heels of his feet._

"_You do not fear Hiroko?" Persephone stared blankly at him. "You're a fool, Yoshiya Kiryu."_

"_No," Joshua said, turning around to continue to his original destination. "I'm the luckiest bastard you'll ever meet. And I'll prove it to you, most _legendary _soothsayer. I am a… Angel's child, didn't you say?"_

_Joshua's sly grin was all Persephone needed to know- Hiroko was not going to be happy._

Joshua grimaced, bending down to pick up a stray purple pen that had lain discarded next to an exceptionally overgrown fern. He glanced over to Neku, than to the adults a little ways away.

"Exceptionally bright… too wild… needs to be controlled…"

Joshua wrote his name on the side of Neku's bench, making sure the purple ink hadn't gone dry.

"Perhaps… yes… enrollment is pricey? So be it…"

Satisfied, Joshua slid onto the bench, leaning over Neku's tiny body, and pressing the tip of the purple pen against the boy's cheek.

Neku didn't even spare a glance at his brother.

He was doing as Joshua had been doing.

The five year old was eavesdropping.

"Indeed, Yoshiya is complicated… much too secretive…"

Joshua created a slight dip in his design.

Neku did not flinch.

"Looks like me… acts like me, too… good for him… away from Shibuya."

Joshua colored in the pinky flesh of Neku's cheek, not so much appalled at how the heart he had drawn under the boy's left eye socket looks rather disfigured.

"Are you done?" Neku asked, his pre-mature voice rising in a whiny tone- that did not mean to be whiny.

"Patience, dear." Joshua reminded, clicking the pen a bit.

"Shut up, Yoshy. Don't call me 'dear'. I'm not a girl." Neku's lower lip was sticking out dramatically, eyebrows creased.

"Sure you aren't. You sound like one though." Joshua stated, a smirk running across his face.

Neku blushed slightly. "No, I don't…" He mumbled, covering his pink ears with his sweater.

"Amazing perception… so intelligent for one so naïve…"

Joshua watched a small child- one of the few around Neku's age- stare at the boy next to him with a sense of interest. Joshua recognized her. Her mother was the secretary. She had been in the office the last time Joshua had stopped by, a week or so earlier. He recognized the strange little stuffed thing in her arms- a Cat, was it?

"But, oh… just so stubborn… Yoshiya has no sense of his future… not a care…"

Such lies! If Joshua's father knew- if only. No, Joshua needed to calm. He needed to stay masked. There would _always_ be a mask. Joshua would never let any emotion that was not permitted out in the open. Joshua would not let anything get past this shield- he had built the façade so long ago, he knew it would have to stay. Joshua's emotions were worthless. The only thing that mattered was the Composer.

The Composer.

Of course.

Why hadn't the insane boy seen this?

It was the _Composer._

He wouldn't live past fifteen.

It was because that's the age he'll live in.

Forever.

Or until he's erased.

It was why the Composer wanted him dead- why he was such a threat. Persephone- the witch had told him of the future. Of course, Joshua barely kept a giddy smile from sliding onto his mouth. The seer had seen him becoming Composer. And Hiroko- stupid Hiroko- had done exactly what would soon lead to his demise. Stupid Hiroko.

Joshua had the _sight _of a Composer.

But Joshua was patient. Joshua could wait. Forever, he could wait. But he didn't have to.

Because Hiroko was the opposite. He was restless.

Oh, Joshua felt his mask cracking, a smile creeping forward. Oh, how stupid this man is.

"Why do you have a heart on your face?" The child with the stuffed cat asked.

Neku stared blankly at her. He's going to be garbage with girls, Joshua mused, suddenly much happier.

Giddy.

"Hello?" The girl waved her cat in front of his face, which was tinted a pale pink color.

"Uhh…"

"Man of many words, you are." Joshua chided, standing up before the boy did something rash. Like biting him. He had a scar from that. Bad, bad Neku. Sharp teeth, he has.

Neku buried his face in his hands, moaning.

The girl giggled, hopping up next to him. Joshua winked at the child, and walked away. He could distantly hear the young girl as he left them. Her intentions clear on making a new friend.

And Joshua slipped past his father, and managed to find his office easy enough. Joshua would've done this long before. But the his father's office was locked at home, which meant Joshua had no access to the computer. He'd of looked it up at the library, but he didn't want to answer any questions.

So he sat down, and stared at the white box blankly.

"You," Joshua said, placing his fingers on the keyboard, "are going to tell me _everything._"

_Hiroko Kokyuu_

There was 327 results.

There was a man named Hiroko Kokyuu in northern Japan who owned a shoe factory.

_Hiroko Kokyuu murder case_

24 results.

_Twenty Three year old, Hiroko Kokyuu murder investigation._

Joshua clicked on it.

_**Nikkan Kogyo **_

**Young Man Mysteriously Found Dead In Shibuya.**

_Hiroko Kokyuu, twenty three, a young agent of a computer company in Shinagawa, Tokyo, was found late Friday night with a bullet in his chest. A gun was found close by, but evidence says that it was not fired at Kokyuu. The gun, however, was said to be fired also. Kokyuu's DNA resides on the gun. There is questioning of if Kokyuu shot himself, but forensics have found that the fatal bullet did not come from the same gun as Kokyuu's, meaning another gun was fired at him._

_His death is under investigation. His funeral will be held on July 9th._

Joshua frowned. Was this it? Seriously? This tiny little paragraph?

He scrolled down, checking the date.

_July 5th, 1987._

Eleven years of being the Composer? That was interesting.

He scrolled down some more. But that was all. He checked a few more pages on the search engine. They all said the same thing.

"That's it?" Joshua asked incredulously. "That's all there is to it? The Composer simply was _shot _and he became the Composer? How? What happened to the other one?"

There was nothing else. Just the simple paragraph. "What about his family? His friends? His co-workers? Did they have nothing to say about it?"

There was something wrong with the article. Something very, very wrong.

_Girl murdered in Shibuya, Persephone_

34 results.

**English Teen Shot Dead In Udagawa, Shibuya**

That was it. Joshua glanced at the door warily, before clicking on the article.

_**Hokkoku Shimbun **_

**Young English Teen Found Dead Sunday Morning**

_Fourteen-year-old Aquamarie Persephone Fetchlyn, of Brighton, England, was vacationing in Tokyo with her mother, father, and three siblings, when found dead in Udagawa. Aquamarie, who commonly went under many different aliases because of her unique name, was said to have left the hotel her family was staying in at around 3:30 AM, according to her younger brother, Mase Leonial Fetchlyn. Mase had found her standing by the door of the hotel room, shaking. "She looked scared," Mase, nine, stated, "She always looked like that though. I didn't think about it too much. I just went back to bed."_

_Both parents, MaryJennett and Claude Fetchlyn, were too shocked to comment._

_According to the autopsy, Aquamarie was shot thrice in the chest. An anonymous tip led police to her body._

_Aquamarie's funeral will be held in Brighton. A memorial service will be held on Thursday, June 23rd._

Her picture sat in the corner of the page. Face stuck in an endless smile, crystal ball eyes twinkling. Her face was covered in freckles, tiny little things, spanned out across her face. But most just clustered around her cheeks. Her name had been Aquamarie. Aquamarie Persephone? How did she live with that?

He quickly exited out of the pages he had opened, and stood. Placing the chair in a correct stance, and the ivory mouse, Joshua left the room with only a few thoughts in mind.

He needed to talk to Sanae. And quickly.

God knew when time would run out.

Joshua slipped back into the party, and watched as the small child that had come up to Neku smiled idly, and waved, as she made her way out of the office with her mother. Neku stared blankly after her.

Joshua felt exhilarated. As if he knew. As if _he _was the Seer. Joshua's clock was ticking it's last hour.

His mask was melting. It was dripping down his face, blistering and bubbling his skin. Joshua felt his expression become so numbingly readable. He felt his everything- _everything _Yoshiya Kiryu is or was had shattered that day. That moment, Joshua's eyes had blasted a signal of realization. Surprise. Shock. Agony, even.

This was all it took, really. The mask had held everything. The burdens, the guilt, the pressure. Now that it was gone, Joshua felt vulnerable. Or maybe he just felt the scorch of his mother's wide eyes bore into his skin. Maybe he saw the look of horror on his brother's face, the way the boy's lips were parted, the way his usually calm face seemed to be stricken by a sudden fear, and terror. The way the boy's clear cold eyes seemed to penetrate through Joshua's skin, and bone. Through blood and veins, the boy's stare was clear through. Sharp as a knife, through Joshua's soul.

And Joshua did what any human would do when faced with so much emotional baggage in one searing moment. He ran out the door.

He never looked back.


	3. Chapter 3

Maybe- and it's a harsh thought- maybe, this was Joshua's last act of human confliction.

And maybe he was well aware of his life ticking away.

He was being given twenty minutes.

Cat Street was well a fifteen minute walk away. Ten minutes if he was fast.

He could hear his mother calling after him- and he ran faster until the sound was drowned out.

Cat Street was getting closer. He could make it. He could-

This is all but a memory. Something that will make Joshua smile ten years after.

This is just a figment of a sick mind. A mastermind. A _god. _

This is a particular moment.

A girl with glossy satin hair watched him curiously from the middle of a snowy road.

Her eyes were blank, as usual.

Her freckled face was still- all except for a smile gnarled into her lips.

Joshua stopped. She still had that shiny red lipstick on. She might've even been wearing the same clothes- but Joshua could not recall what they were, exactly.

Her curls floated around her face, which glowed eerily under the street lights.

"What do you want?" Joshua spat, feeling strange without his regular personality hanging around him to make him alight.

"You are truly something, child of Angels." The girl giggled, her eyes staying completely blank. "But you can be such a fool."

"What?" Joshua asked warily, stepping back. Persephone stayed in the middle of the road. White flurries stuck to her glossy blood hair.

"How fast can you run, Yoshiya?" Persephone asked, her voice sounding giddy. She looked up at the sky.

"Why?" Joshua stared at her.

She looked back at him. Her blank eyes brightened, and her mouth twisted into a wicked smile.

Joshua stared at her. He heard a scream from not so far away.

"Why is it me?" Joshua whispered, staring at girl clad in blood. "Why?"

"You're wasting time." She mused.

"What time? I have no time." Joshua could feel a smirk rising to his lips.

"Not _your_ time." She chortled, turning, skipping away.

"Not… my time?"

It dawned on him. Someone had screamed.

And he had ran away from the person who had been following him.

Joshua spun around, and began to run back.

But he was too late. He heard a gunshot- and a cry.

A faint yell was heard. And feet shuffling. Joshua stopped, hiding behind a building, watching as Neku ran swiftly, and quickly down the snow coated roads.

_When did he get so fast? _Joshua shook his head, coming out of his hiding spot. There was only a crumpled figure in the road.

_Shit. _Joshua ran over to his mother, not so shocked by the fact that she had just been shot.

"Mother?" Joshua bent down, shaking her a bit. Her eyes flickered upward. To Joshua's surprise, and wide smile rose to her lips.

"Joshua…" She whispered, raising a shaky hand to the pale boy's face. "My dear, little Joshua…"

"I'm sorry." Joshua said, traces of guilt etching across his face. He took hold of her shaking hand. "I didn't know you were going to come after me. If I did…"

"Joshua," His mother wheezed, "I'm just… _so _happy, I could… s-see you one last t-time."

"Mother…" He shook his head.

"N-no." She shook her head, "You shut up, now. I-I talk now. Just let me talk."

"Okay." He whispered, eyes wide.

"Now- now, Neku's gone running of, Joshua. And I will _not _loose a son tonight, y-you got it? You are going to get him and yourself _safe._" The woman pressed something cold into Joshua's hand. "You hear me?"

"I hear you," Joshua said- voice cracking a bit. "I hear you, momma."

"Good…" She smiled, her dark brown eyes sparkling with tears. "That's good…"

Joshua had never felt as human as he did that moment.

It wasn't a human confliction.

It was a human emotion.

Emotion_s._

His soul wept, as the woman's breathed not. His heart broke.

He never knew just how much he had loved that woman.

Joshua stared at the small trinket his mother had placed into his hand.

It was her locket. The beautiful little thing, silver and lovely, and it was perfection. It burnt his fingertips.

Joshua looked back at his lifeless mother, and stared at her glazed eyes. Their glassy look sculpted from marbles. Joshua laid his fingers on her eyelids, bringing them to a close. Joshua's eye watered, and he brought her head closer to him, and hugged her.

He couldn't remember to last time he had given the woman a hug.

He kissed her hair, and laid her back down.

Neku couldn't last much longer.

And Joshua had a small handgun in his pocket.

If he needed to, he'd use it.

He stood, and listened. He could faintly hear yelling.

It was all he needed, really.

His mask was regenerating.

Joshua ran, clutching the small necklace, flying through the snowy, abandoned streets. No one was killing his brother tonight.

Neku had been cornered into an alley a block away. Joshua stopped, and watched.

"You will stand _still_!" Hiroko cried, point a gun at the young boy's head. Neku stared at the gun with awe.

Joshua wasn't sure what kind of awe it was.

"Leave the kid alone, Kokyuu," Joshua said, waving his hand, "He's not worth the time."

Hiroko spun around. He was a normal looking man- dark hair, dark eyes. He was wearing a pinstripe suit and a navy tie.

"Yoshiya Kiryu?" He snorted. "We meet at last."

"Hoo-rah ." Joshua laughed, his voice soaked in sarcasm. "Now, if you don't mind- let him go."

Hiroko rolled his eyes. "So foolish."

"Yep." Joshua giggled, "You're point, Hiroko?"

"You have been living with this boy for five years," Hiroko laughed, waving his gun. Joshua raised an eyebrow. "And yet, you know nothing of him. You know _nothing, _boy! Nothing! You are a worthless worm!" He cackled, throwing his head back. "Do you not see what this boy is?"

"Is he a future ladies man? That would be wonderful to watch."

"Oh, will you stop that?" Hiroko snapped.

"I do not know what you are referring to." Joshua said innocently. He glanced at Neku. The boy was staring blankly again. Joshua's stomach churned as he thought about his mother.

"That! That… insanity you speak in!"

"I'm only mimicking you, all crazy one."

"Yoshiya Kiryu…" Hiroko said. He laughed, and shook his head. "You just don't see it, do you?"

"I'm going to say no…" Joshua said, smirking.

"Your _brother._"

"Yes, I see him. He's about five, tiny, looks a bit scared," Joshua laughed, "The usual child."

"Unbelievable."

"Just let him go home." Joshua sighed.

"What home? He has no one to go back to."

"Our father is still alive. Regrettably, Neku can live with him."

"So you think." Hiroko sneered.

"What?" Joshua stopped. Duh. Why not kill off the whole family? Leaves less witnesses.

Joshua glanced at his brother. Neku blinked.

"He's just a child."

"He's a Seer, Yoshiya."

Joshua's head snapped in Neku's direction at that note. Neku's head had also whipped in a different direction. He stared at Hiroko in shock.

"How did you…" Neku shook his head.

"Please, child. I have my own Seer. She's quite the token, too."

"Pervert." Neku muttered.

Hiroko glared at the child. "Hold your tongue."

"That's fascinating…" Joshua whispered, staring at Neku.

"Yes, it's rare to find one Seer in a decade, but finding two- it's very rare."

"So," Joshua said, clapping his hands together. "Before you kill me mercilessly, do you mind if I consult my brother under my mother's dying wish?" Joshua asked, batting his eyelashes.

"I'm just going to shoot you, so cut the crap. If you have to go talk to him. But you only have three minutes, and counting."

"Whatever you say, Composer." Joshua sighed, walking around the man, and to Neku's side.

"Hello." Joshua said, bending down so they were eye level.

Neku stared at him. He launched his arms around his brother's neck, and Joshua could feel the boy's tears on his skin.

"He killed momma. I didn't see it… I didn't…"

"Yeah… Neku, I have a plan, but it's a long shot," He whispered, "There was something about the Composer's power. I think I might be able to…" Joshua shook his head.

"W-what?" Neku asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Nothing." Joshua said, giggling slightly. He stood up, pulled the locket around Neku's throat, and clasping it shut.

"_Right-o, mum._" He mimicked Persephone.

"Get on with it." Hiroko sighed.

"Impatient?"

"Very."

Hiroko raised his gun, and pointed it at the pale boy. "Don't take this personally," Hiroko said, pulling back the safety. "I just really don't like you."

Joshua pulled back the safety on the gun in his pocket. Work. Joshua commanded. Please, just work.

He pulled out his gun, and pulled the trigger.

The Composer blocked the bullet.

And shot his own gun.

Joshua fell. Just as he knew he would. He could see a glowing gold light.

It was not Heaven.

Joshua's whole being was being re-created. He could see the Angels. They watched patiently, as Joshua became Shibuya. The Composer.

Joshua now knew everything.

He sat up, eyes wide with realization. It was as if everything that was to be known was inside his head. The immense power was thrilling. He couldn't help but feel hyped about it. It was amazing. The power he had.

And then he spoke. It was against his own will, but the words flowed out of his mouth all the same.

"By order of the Angels," Joshua said, a bit appalled by his own voice. He wasn't speaking. The Angels were. "You, Hiroko Kokyuu, have been accused of illegally using a Seer to change the outcome of Fate. Your punishment if found guilty, is thirty-seven years in purgatory."

Joshua tried to hide a smile. He completely failed what he was trying to do, but this worked better.

Hiroko stared at Joshua in shock. "No… the Angels… Angels- no!"

"By order of the Angels, the next child of Angels will take roll as Composer of Shibuya. Yoshiya Kiryu may rule as he pleases, as long as he follows The Law of All respectfully. He may change the game in any way, shape or form, and choose new Reapers." The Angel in his voice said. "You will be held on trial for your crimes against the Fate, Hiroko Kokyuu. Your Seer shall be given the choice of leaving Shibuya and living on as a Spirit, or becoming reborn."

"I choose to be Reborn, Angel."

Persephone had appeared, maybe a few minutes earlier. Her eyes were sad.

"So be it." The Angel said. Hiroko disappeared in a flurry of lights, the panic in his expression never leaving.

The Angel left Joshua to watch Persephone fade away.

She smiled slightly. "Well, see you sometime… Don't go making too many mistakes."

"Right." Joshua giggled, giddy on power.

"See you when I'm older?"

"Probably not, but… I should probably thank you for those warnings."

"Yes…" Her voice was distant. Joshua couldn't see her anymore. She had faded completely away.

Joshua sighed, and turned to Neku. He stared after the girl.

"She was like me." He observed.

The Composer watched his brother. He did not speak.

"Joshua?"

There were sirens in the distance.

"Joshua?"

The Composer stepped closer, and knelt down. "Sorry. You don't know me."

Neku stepped back. "What?"

"You have no idea who I am."

"But-" Joshua took hold of the boy's head, placing his hands carefully on his temples, and he watched as Neku's eyes rolled upward.

"Your name is Neku Sakuraba." Joshua said, remembering a teenager from the Game having that surname.

Neku's mouth was agape, as Joshua drained his mind of any memories of family, friends, anything from the past five years. He left only the necessities.

Neku fell, unconscious.

Joshua stood, and turned to face Sanae Hanekoma, who had been standing there for a good part of the last five minutes.

"Make sure he gets good foster parents. I don't feel like having to check up on him. After all, he isn't my brother anymore."

Sanae stared at him. "Josh, you're insane."

Joshua smirked at the man. "I am." He began to walk out of the alley. "Sanae?" He asked, turning around.

"Yep?"

"Would you like to be my Producer?"

* * *

A dark brown haired girl trembled with cold. Her lips had turned a dark blue. In her shaking hands, was a little silver locket. It was an ice cube in her numb hands. The cool metal pressed against her skin, and she shook her head.

"You have to be _joking_!"

He smiled at her. "Afraid not, dear."

Shiki stood, waist deep in dark, icy water. Her dark hair was plastered to her face, and her glasses had gotten lost when she had dove into the lake to retrieve the silvery locket.

"I'm telling Neku." She said, shaking her head, and wading her way to shore.

"I can't let you do that."

Shiki glared at the Composer, and clutched the locket tighter.

"Why not?" She hissed through chattering teeth.

"Because he is not my brother any longer."

"Just because you took his memories away, doesn't mean he isn't your brother anymore!"

"I've masked and re-masked myself too many times for me to be that same Yoshiya Kiryu. I'm a different person, Miss Masaki, and so is he. Plus, there's a chance he might die from the massive trauma taking his memories away did to him. Resurfacing them, my dear, Shiki, would be a blood bath."


End file.
